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Liberals can’t let down military again: Editorial

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan’s plans are welcome news both for the military and for anyone who believes Canada should have the capability to back up its good intentions with force, if necessary, in key areas.

Minister of National Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan speaks with the media following a speech at the Canadian Association of Defence and Security conference in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

By Star Editorial Board

Wed., June 7, 2017

For far too long, Canada has asked its men and women in uniform to do tough and dangerous jobs while failing to provide them with the modern equipment they need. Both Liberal and Conservative governments have bungled the task of procuring updated weapons systems, leaving our air force flying aging planes and our navy operating ships well past their best-by date.

The Trudeau government now promises a dramatic fix to this sorry situation with a new defence policy that would invest many more billions in our armed forces.

Still, it comes with a host of questions — especially since a major build-up of the military wasn’t exactly at the heart of what the Liberals promised voters during the 2015 election campaign. That was all about infrastructure and social spending, not fighters and frigates.

Indeed, as recently as March, Finance Minister Bill Morneau brought down a budget that stripped more than $8 billion out of the defence department’s equipment budget, and postponed it far down the road.

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Now, the government is promising to spend an extra $62.3 billion over the next 20 years, two-thirds of it on capital equipment, to effectively create a new, modernized military. Its plans include 88 new-generation fighter jets (significantly more than the 65 pledged under the Conservative government) as well as 15 surface-combatant ships — practically an entirely new navy.

Sajjan’s plan shows the defence department’s budget increasing from $18.9 billion now to $32.7 billion a decade from now — a 70-per-cent increase. That, according to the government, would boost Canada’s military spending from 1.1 per cent of GDP now (according to a revised calculation) to 1.4 per cent. It isn’t the 2 per cent that President Donald Trump has been calling for from NATO members, but it’s going in that direction.

Of course, the military has seen many bold announcements like this come and go. Plans to replace aging helicopters, fighters and ships have been made over and over again, to be followed by delay after delay.

This new plan stretches far into the future, with major spending starting only in 2019 and later — after the next election. In the normal run of things, there will be four or five elections before the full 20-year schedule is completed, and it will depend on future finance ministers to make sure the money is actually set aside.

More to the point, Sajjan ducked some important questions about more pressing matters, including the peacekeeping mission to Africa that was at the top of his agenda last year. That has been on hold for six months and it’s high time for some clarity around it, but the minister had nothing to offer.

He did, however, have some welcome words about the future direction of the forces that doesn’t involve buying new hardware.

The government aims to make the military more inclusive and respectful, with a target of having a quarter of its members women by 2026. Recruiting more women is likely the best way to change the culture of the armed forces and fighting their persistent problems with sexual misconduct.

Sajjan’s promises for the military are a big change for the Liberals and are aimed at backing up the ambitious role that Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland has outlined for Canada in the Trump era. It’s far from clear, though, that the Trudeau government — or any government — can carry through.

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